At WWE No Mercy this past Sunday, AJ Styles retained the WWE World Championship in the triple threat match between himself, Dean Ambrose, and John Cena. The finish saw Styles pinning Cena, which is the third time he’s done so in the past five months. AJ Styles may be the only man to be able to make that claim, but the point is that it shows exactly how Cena has been valued on the WWE product over the past year or so.
John Cena’s time on WWE programming has been drastically cut down over the past year, which makes his appearances and matches more special because they don’t happen nearly as often anymore. It’s given the spotlight and opportunity to a new roster full of young talent, plus it’s allowed Cena to continue to promote all things WWE outside of the company . John Cena is paying it forward for WWE, and it’s a great thing.
After WWE No Mercy , it has been well known for quite some time that John Cena will be taking a hiatus from SmackDown and WWE programming . As of this writing, he’s not expected to be featured more heavily on WWE television until late December or even early 2017. Despite the fact that Cena will be absent from WWE programming for awhile, WWE has their creative plans ready for his return whenever it may be.
It’s being reported that John Cena’s hiatus will officially begin his hiatus from WWE after this Saturday’s WWE house show in Phoenix, Arizona. He’ll be filming the second season of the American Grit television series from the FOX Network, which is expected to last for roughly two months.
However, the report also claims that Cena will be featured on WWE Survivor Series in November, but it is very unlikely he’ll be making any appearances on Raw or SmackDown to promote the WWE PPV. It’s far too early to know exactly what Cena will be doing at the event, but he will most likely be one of the SmackDown Superstars in the traditional WWE Survivor Series elimination match that is going to take place.
After that, Cena isn’t currently scheduled for anything other than a holiday WWE live event in Madison Square Garden in late December. He’s most likely going to be making his return to WWE television shortly after that event in perfect time for the Road to Wrestlemania . Although his plans for Wrestlemania 33 are still up in the air , WWE seems to have a pretty good idea of what he’ll be doing after his return to WWE TV.
AJ Styles is still expected to have the WWE World Championship on SmackDown by December, so WWE officials are planning to continue Cena vs. Styles when the former returns around WWE TLC or shortly after that PPV. Many people may complain about Cena coming back and immediately getting a title shot, but he is knocking on wrestling history that may never be seen again.
The angle is expected to be about John Cena’s quest to become the 16-time WWE World Champion to tie the unbreakable record set by Ric Flair. WWE would also likely use the fact that Cena hasn’t been able to beat AJ Styles, and he’s been pinned by him on three separate occasions. It’s unclear as of now if Cena will become the WWE World Champion before Wrestlemania 33 , but it’s a strong possibility.
A lot of people are still hoping for John Cena vs. The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all next year in Orlando. That match would be historic and epic, but the latter’s status is still unknown. Unfortunately, the jury is still out on that match, but WWE is going to be giving Cena a strong push for Wrestlemania 33 no matter what he’s doing.
[Featured Image By WWE]